


The Slightest Chance

by Strange_Hearts



Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: AU Prince Caspian, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Other, POV Third Person Plural, Several Stories in One, Twilight Princess AU, Voyage of the Dawn Treader Era, slight crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strange_Hearts/pseuds/Strange_Hearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>When Lucy comes to be on the <i>Dawn Treader</i> she has no idea of what's happened in the past thirteen hundred years in Narnia.  Why?  Because when she went through the Wardrobe during the Hunt for the Silver Stag, she didn't end up back in England, she some how got transported to Hyrule, back in her ten year old body as well.  Now, she's back in Narnia, where Caspian is King, and just beginning to remember her live there, as well as her siblings and family.  What happens when her siblings end up arriving in Narnia once again, just a mere day after she does?</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> **  
>  _Disclaimer: I do not own Chronicles of Narnia (though I do have the omnimus book, as well as first two movies), nor do I own Twilight Princess (though I do have the game). They are owned by their respective owners, and I'm just borrowing the characters, plots, situations, and several other things while mixing them with certain things of my own._   
>  **
> 
>  
> 
> **_I know, I should be working on my incomplete stories, but right now, I'm in a Chronicles of Narnia phase, so the ideas going through my mind have to do with that right now. And so, this story came about - it's basically a what if idea that plays off the idea that Lucy couldn't stay in Narnia, but had rejected the mere thought of going back to England so badly that she couldn't go back there. Her being in Hyrule was because that was the first world that popped into my head of where she could end up, and I actually liked the idea of her growing up in Hyrule the way she did in Narnia._ **
> 
>  
> 
> **_While the main story is of how Voyage of the Dawn Treader plays out, the stories of her life in Hyrule, as well as how Prince Caspian could have played out are also going to be told, though not in as much detail as they would if they were separate stories - I'll actually be writing them as separate stories when dealing with them, and then editing them down for having them posted in this story._ **
> 
>  
> 
> **_This will not be the only Chronicles of Narnia story I will be doing, either - I am in the process of writing another one, that does take place during Prince Caspian, and will be posting the first chapter of tht one up when I can as well. However, as the first chapter for this story is finished, I am posting it now. I hope you all enjoy._ **

The water was suffocating, surrounding her within it's embrace, as though trying to keep her from moving, despite the fact that she was underneath it. The shock of somehow finding herself underneath the waves almost had her breathing the water in, and it was only quick action that she didn't, kicking her legs and spreading out her arms in an attempt to get to the lighter colored water, hoping to be able to breach the surface soon – having had no warning about what had happened, appearing in the middle of some pool of water having happened so suddenly, that she hadn't had a chance to take in much air, and was quickly becoming in need of it.

The surface seemed to be even further away than she had originally thought, but she didn't give up in reaching for it, forcefully going faster despite the coolness of the water and fatigue of her muscles. She didn't think that she would make it to the surface, but then her head broke it, sunlight brightening the world around her, and she greedily took in a breath of air while partially in the air, her body's momentum causing her to end up falling back down into the water, which covered her head for a moment before she broke free again. Then, it took quite a bit of her concentration to stay above water, her now water logged clothes heavy on her body.

Blinking in surprise and slight fear, she looked around her, trying to find out where she was, then noticing that a large ship was beginning bear down on her. Eyes widening, she turned, beginning to swim away, for she not only was she in it's path, but she didn't recognize the flags upon the ship, there there was something that bespoke of familiarity in the back of her mind. She felt panic when she heard shouting coming from the ship, even more panic upon hearing the sounds of someone jumping onto the water. She tried her best to swim away faster, but was hampered by the long skirts of her dress, causing her to wish, vainly, that she had been adventuring rather than attending a coronation ball the Queen had asked her to attend. The only good thing was that she had made sure that her usual tunic and pants were under the dress, so that she could quickly shed it if need be – though, being busy to keeping herself afloat, she couldn't quite do that right at the moment.

She almost screamed when she felt an arm wrap around her waist, struggling to get away from the distinctly male body it pulled her to.

“It's okay, it's okay, you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just trying to help,” the man said, calm despite her struggles, and she paused: there was something in his accented voice that seemed to calm her. She turned, eyes wide as she took in the handsome face of the stranger. He was Telemarian ( _How do I know that word, and that is what his origins are?)_ , she could tell that from the Hispanic features. And, dimly in her mind, the remembrance of tensions between Telmar and... somewhere else, somewhere she held a connection to, though she couldn't remember where it was, especially at the moment, came to her mind.

And yet, despite the fact that she wondered why she wasn't struggling even more at seeing this person, she didn't struggle anymore to get out of his arms, something in his face showing her that he could be trusted. Instead, she studied him, noting the thin growth of hair on his cheeks and chin, the shoulder length dark hair, darker now that it was wet, and, though she couldn't see it, she could feel the muscles on him, though she could tell that he was lean looking, and not built up like a body builder. And, while his eyes were dark, almost black, they were completely kind looking,

“Come,” he stated, gently pulling her with him to the side of the ship, where two evenly spaced ropes touched the water – she then saw that they were wrapped around a board. He helped her put her feet on the board, keeping an arm around her waist while grabbing one of the ropes; she grabbed the other, though she kept herself close to him, feeling comfort from him, despite the fact that she didn't know him.

They were pulled up onto the deck of the ship, and her eyes widened to see, not the men, but a minotaur and what looked to be a bit of an oversized mouse, with a rapier at it's side, standing on the deck. Again, there was the familiarity from seeing them, stronger this time, but it eluded her when she tried to think about what it might be.

She heard people talking around her as she mechanically stepped onto the ship, eyes looking around her as they took in everything they could. She was startled a bit when the mouse came forward and spoke, though not to her, thankfully, for she wasn't sure she could answer him if he had. The man beside her – _he was still standing there? –_ spoke, answering the mouse back, his arm still around her waist. He withdrew his arm from around her waist after a moment, taking a towel from one of the others, and draping it around her shoulders. Her hands immediately came up to to hold it in place, a light breeze causing her to shiver slightly as it caused her wet clothing to become colder.

“Miss,” the same accented voice that had calmed her said.

“Yes?” she said softly, looking up at him.

“Follow me, please,” he said, adding on the last bit as if as an afterthought, as though he didn't want to appear as though he was commanding her to do as he said. She did as he bid, following him to what appeared to be a lavish cabin – _one fit for royalty_ was her thoughts about it – before turning to her.

“I'm afraid that we don't have any female clothing aboard, but you may borrow some of my things for the time being, at least until your dress and such are dried,” he stated, before walking over to a built in wardrobe, and opening it to reveal a set of drawers. He opened them to grab some things from inside, then closed it. “You may use my room to change while I go get situated into a set of dry clothes myself. I will be back once I have done so, so please wait here once you've changed.”

He then walked out the door, leaving her alone. The idea of being in some dry clothes was more than appealing to her, and she walked over to the wardrobe herself, opening the door and rummaging through the drawers. While she grabbed the first tunic her hands got on, she had a little trouble with pants, all of them too big and long for her to really wear. Sighing, she slipped off her dress and everything she had under, breathing a breath of relief as the corset she'd been forced to wear under her tunic was discard, allowing her to breath more freely. Taking the blanket that had been wrapped around her, she used it to remove as much water as she could from her body, wrapping and squeezing as much water from her hair last, before throwing on the tunic she'd grabbed. It was dark colored, and went down to mid thigh, leaving it look quite scandalous on her, to scandalous to be worn alone, especially considering her lack of undergarments.

Sighing, she went to the wardrobe again, looking through it in hopes of finding something she could use as pants, and still seeing nothing that would fit – she might have had a little more luck if she could find a belt, but there didn't seem to be one in there either. Frowning as she closed the door, she gathered her wet clothing from the floor, walking over to a large basin that had a rod hanging over it, and throwing them all over it to help dry, doing the same with the blanket, when an idea came to mind.

She turned to the bed, hoping the man wouldn't mind as she pulled back the top cover, and pulled one of the thinner sheets from the bed, taking the tunic off to wrap it around her body like a towel. She held one end against her side as she wrapped the rest around and around, until she couldn't anymore, and the tucked the end in as well, doing her best to make sure it would stay – a belt would be helpful in making this stay as well, but she had to make due with what she had. Then, she pulled the tunic back on, nodding her head when she noticed that the sheet made it look as though she had a skirt, or another dress, on, even if she actually didn't. The blanket went down to just above her feet, covering skin that wouldn't have been appropriate to be seen.

She apparently finished getting dressed just in time, though, for, as she was making sure that her idea had worked, there came a knock on the door, and she walked over and opened it up, seeing the man from before.

She watched as his eyes looked her over, her own doing the same and taking in more of his features, seeing that she was right about his body build, as well as the fact that he was tall, taller than her by quite a few inches. She also saw his still kind eyes, which said that her trust in him was well deserved – so far. She supposed that she would just have to see if that continued.

“I see that you have had need to improvise. I must ask for your forgiveness, I did not think about the fact that you would not really be able to fit into any of my trousers without help until just a little bit ago,” he stated. “I actually brought you a belt from one of the other crew members.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said, gently taking it from him, and placing it around her waist, as an extra precaution to keep the blanket from falling off.

“It is no problem, miss,” he stated. “Come, we can go to my study to speak, as I'm sure you have some questions, and there are things in there that I can use to help me explain, as well as show you that what I speak of is true.”

She nodded her head, walking with him to his study, thinking of what questions to ask him, hoping that he would say something that would help make sense of the familiarity that she was feeling. It hadn't left her, though she hadn't had any more twinges to help give her any more clues as to why she was feeling this way. They didn't speak as they made their way down to the hall, to the back of the ship, where his study laid, for it had the greatest lighting on the entire ship, that was also covered so that they'd have a safe place to do map work and have discussions if they needed them.

She looked around immediately upon entering the room, and, to her surprise, was immediately drawn to a plaque that rested over the fireplace. It was of a lion's head, mounted on the wall. As a decoration, it was pretty simple, but in her mind it sent even more pangs of familiarity through her, and, as she walked over while her male companion headed in a different direction, all at once, that which had been in her mind, trying to break free of the bonds that had been put on it to release the pain the memories her past had brought to her until she had done this for herself.

The quick intake of breath she took immediately caught her companion's attention, bringing his attention to where she stood in front of the fireplace from across the room, where she had heard him looking for something as she'd drawn closer. She wasn't aware of him coming over, though, her hand touching the plaque, frozen their as memories hit her.

“Aslan,” she breathed out, right before her mind's way of bringing about her need to process the memories hit her, and blackness overtook her. She wasn't aware of what was about to happen as she crumpled to the ground.

* * *

“Your Majesty,” the ship's captain Drinian said as he gave a short bow, heading out of the room to no doubt head to the helm. Caspian the tenth, King of Narnia, gave a nod as he followed him out of his study, his mind on other things than what he and the captain had just decided. Heading to the aft of the ship, he thought about why he'd decided to come on this journey; to look for the seven lords that had been loyal to his father, whom Miraz had sent away on a supposed trip, and who hadn't been seen since. Though there was a part of him that wasn't all that sure that they'd still be alive, he was determined to discover what had happened to them.

All those aboard the ship were loyal Narnians, some whom he had even fought alongside with three years previously, back when he was just a prince, heir to the Telmar kingdom, and his uncle was still alive, planning on how to kill him once he had an heir; in fact, it was his cousin's birth that had brought about him becoming King of Narnia, crowned by Aslan himself, just as the Kings and Queens of Old – or, as he had gotten to know them as, Peter, Susan, and Edmund, along with their littlest sister – had been.

A frown broke on his face as he thought about the littlest Queen of Old, the one he'd most wanted to meet, and yet had been unable to. It seemed that, while she had disappeared like her siblings, her disappearance hadn't been like there's, where they'd been sent back to their own world after ruling for fifteen years. No, her disappearance was more horrid, for it seemed that she hadn't just disappeared from Narnia, but from their lives as well. And, as he had seen, they were mourning her, especially when learning how much time had passed since they'd ruled – for it had taken awhile for them to learn that she too had disappeared when they did. And then, their mourning had started all over again, only mixed with worry, for they had no clue as to her whereabouts.

“Sire!” suddenly broke through his thoughts about the Valiant Queen, and he quickly turned to the one who'd spoken – a Talking mouse by the name of Reepicheep, one of the Knights of Narnia, and one of his dearest friends.

“Sire, look,” Reepicheep said, and Caspian looked to where he was pointing. At first, he saw nothing, and thought that the mouse might have just saw a wave wrongly or something, but, as he continued to look, he saw a head and body break through the sea, bobbing there as they did their best to stay afloat. He couldn't tell from where he stood, but he thought that it was a female from the brief glimpse of the face he saw when they turned and saw the ship. He watched, while several others caught sight of the person, as they turned and began trying to swim away – he was now more positive of the gender of the person when he saw that they were wearing a dress.

“I'll go,” he stated firmly as he saw several of the others about to jump off the ship to heard to the female. He quickly shed his tunic, leaving him in a white shirt, before climbing up the railing, and diving into the water himself. He quickly swam to the figure, seeing that they were indeed female as he'd thought as he wrapped an arm around them, thinking that they would appreciate the help. The female, however, didn't seem to think that he was there to help, for, upon feeling him wrap an arm around her and pull her to him – in the interest of keeping her afloat better, nothing more – she struggled to get from his arms, panicked, and he had the feeling that her struggles weren't because she didn't want help, but because she didn't know why he had come for her, or where she even was – after all, just appearing out in the middle of the sea, clearly away from any land, and without a sign of having been on a boat herself, gave him the feeling that her being there was just as sudden for her as it was seeing her.

Thought he wasn't sure it would work, he decided that speaking to her might help.

“It's okay,” he said, stay calm despite the fact that she was still struggling, soft whimpers coming from her. “It's okay, you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just trying to help.”

To his surprise, the moment he started speaking, her little whimpers and struggling began to calm, and it was clear to him that speaking had been a good idea, for she calmed herself, and turned around in his arm, unconsciously putting one of her arms around his shoulder, pressing herself into him a bit more than she already had been; he had the feeling that she wasn't doing it on purpose, either. She looked at him, studying him, and he took a moment to study her, finding her to be extremely beautiful, and familiar in a way, though he couldn't explain what that way was.

She had long, water-darkened brown hair, slightly dark but bright at the same time blue eyes, and pale skin. Though he couldn't see it, he could also tell that her body was definitely that of a woman's, despite the fact that she still looked a bit young. And, as he had guessed, she clearly had no clue as to where she was, her dim fear of her surroundings clear in her eyes. And yet, he could see that she was trusting him

“Come,” he said, once he was sure that she wouldn't start freaking out again. He gently pulled her with him to the boat, her unresisting form easy to move as she helped by kicking her legs in time with his. He led them to the cart that would help pull them onto the ship, helping her find her feet before placing his own on it, holding the side and her waist before giving the okay for them to be pulled up. The young woman did very well upon being pulled up, stepping off once they reached the deck, as he did, and looking around once again. She didn't freak upon seeing Tavros, the minotaur, or Reepicheep, a Talking mouse, in the crowd, nor did she freak when Reepicheep came forward and began speaking to him.

“Milord, perhaps it would be best to get the young miss into some dry clothes, and then ask her questions. She might be more willing to speak if we show her kindness,” Reepicheep said, and Caspian agreed with his reasoning.

“Yes, that is probably the best course of action,” he said. “Drinian, make sure to keep everything going smoothly while I talk to our guest.”

“Milord, before you go, how long will she be on board? We are no where near land, and we do not have any quarters for a female to sleep that are separate from the men,” Drinian asked. Caspian thought for a moment.

“She can have my quarters, and I will sleep down with the crew,” he said, and his tone showed that he would deal with no arguments. Drinian nodded, not at all surprised, and having been expecting, the reply he'd gotten. In fact, he'd only brought it up, so as to have it aired now rather than later, when it could end up causing a bit of a problem while they were all tired and getting ready to sleep. If it happened then, the suggestion that she sleep in the same room as Caspian might have come up, and, even if nothing happened, the rest of the crew might cause problems for the young woman. And he knew that nothing would happen, Caspian was too honorable to do that to a young lady, especially once that had been dressed in such finery, and concealed from people's eyes as she had been, but there was no guarantee that she would be the same way, and not attempt to seduce him, though Drinian, who tended to be a good judge of character, could see that she most likely wasn't like that. Yet, there was still that chance that he could be wrong...

Caspian, not knowing his captain's thoughts, brought his attention back to the young woman, who was now shivering in the slight breeze, holding onto a blanket someone had given her.

“Miss?” he said, and her eyes snapped to him from where they'd been looking at the sail.

“Yes?” she said, questioningly as she looked up towards him – she was several inches shorter than him, her eyes just being able to look over his shoulders. Yet, even though he often disliked women who were shorter than him by more than a few inches, the fact that she was didn't stop the attraction he was feeling towards her, had been since she'd turned and looked at him in the water.

Realizing that he was beginning to drift off into thoughts, he quickly said, “Follow me,” to her, adding, “please,” at the end when he realized just how much of a command what he said had sounded like. And, while he had the right to make commands – a part of being royalty – she didn't know that, and he'd rather not make her feel uncomfortable in her ignorance in front of everyone, for, though Drinian and Reepicheep had both called him 'Milord', he had notice that she wasn't listening to what was being said around her. He would inform her of who he was later, after telling her where she was, and showing her some of Narnia's history, for he hoped that it would make her feel more welcome there if she knew more about the lands and sea she'd found herself in.

He led her to his cabin – which was to the right of his study – noticing her look around at the obvious non-commoner décor.

“I'm afraid that we don't have any female clothing aboard,” he began, interrupting her looking around as she looked back at him from where he stood next to the open door – it was improper to be in a bedroom with a female, unless you were married to said female. Which was probably why his captain had asked about it earlier, since it made what would happen tonight clear to everyone – no one could say anything improper about her, though he knew that none of them would anyway. They were all good men, known even coming close to being the type to make lewd comments. Still, it made sure that such could never happen.

“But, you may borrow some of my things for the time being, at least until your dress and such are dried,” he continued, trying to convey in his tone that he was just saying that because he thought she might prefer being in her dress as opposed to wearing his clothing all the time. He walked over the the wardrobe, both showing her where everything was as well as pulling out his own clothes, which were a dark colored tunic and pants, his only belt with them. Once he'd gotten his own clothing, he closed it, then turned back to her.

“You may use my room to change while I go get situated into a set of dry clothes myself. I will be back once I have done so, so please wait here one you've changed,” he said, not wanting her to wonder off before they had a chance to speak. Finished speaking, he headed to the crew quarters, finding one of the unoccupied hammocks and placing his dry clothing on it before shrugging the blanket that had been thrown around himself off and stripping himself of his wet clothing, picking the blanket back up to get as much of the water off of him as possible before beginning to pull on the dry clothing. It was as he was putting his bet around his waist that he realized something he had forgotten about – she was much smaller around the waist than he was, and that meant that his trousers would definitely not fit her. That wouldn't be much of a problem before, but since he only had two belts, both with him at the moment, and the fact that the belts were more decorative than made to hold things up, he knew that, even if he hadn't grabbed the dryer one, she still wouldn't have been able to put on his pants, because the belt itself would still be big.

He frowned, then looked over at one of the fauns that were on the ship, who was getting ready to head back up to the deck for his shift.

“Gabriel,” he said, and the faun looked over at him. “May I have the use of one your belts for our guest?”

“Of course, your majesty,” Gabriel stated, bending and grabbing one of the belts – while smaller in length, it was a decorative belt, much like the one he was wearing at the moment.

“Thank you,” he said, then turned, picking up his wet clothes and the blanket to place in a bucket of dirty clothing before heading back up to his old, and what would now be their guest's, cabin. He came to a stop at the door, and knocked on the door, not having to wait long before it opened. Without thinking about it, even though he knew that he should probably speak, he looked her up and down, seeing, much to his surprise, that, while she was wearing one of his tunics, she hadn't even attempted to put on a pair of trousers, somehow having what looked like a black skirt on instead. His eyes furrowed, for he knew that it hadn't been a part of her dress – the dress was all green with white, not a hint of black, plus it was all wet. A glance to the bed, though, showed where she'd gotten the black sheet, and he felt a small smile come to his face at how she'd improvised, rather well, in fact.

He noticed that, while he looked her up and down, she did the same, and wondered vaguely what she saw in him.

“I see that you have had need to improvise,” he said, bringing the hand that held the belt up a bit. “I must ask for your forgiveness. I did not think about the fact that you would not really be able to fit into any of my trousers without help until just a little bit ago. I actually brought you a belt from one of the other crew members.”

He was surprised to see that she looked a bit startled upon him offering the belt to her.

“Oh, thank you,” she said, her voice gentle as she took it from him and placed it around her waist. He had been right to ask one of the fauns as opposed to someone else – the belt fit perfectly on her.

“It is no problem, miss,” he stated, as Gabriel had been more than willing to let her borrow it. ““Come, we can go to my study to speak, as I'm sure you have some questions, and there are things in there that I can use to help me explain, as well as show you that what I speak of is true.”

As he led the way to the study – which was just right next to the cabin – opened the door, letting her wonder in while he went straight to one of the bookcases in the room, where he'd put history books and self-made journals he'd done to have the true history of Narnia told, as it needed to be, for, while his old tutor had done well in preserving history, he'd learn more about the golden age, and both it's beginning and fall, from many of the Narnians and the Kings and Queen of Old when they had come to Narnia once more.

He wasn't aware of where she was until he heard her gasp, and looked up from the first journal – where he was trying to find the right place for her to start – and saw that she stood in front of the plaque done in Aslan's honor. His brow furrowed as he noticed the way she stood, and, upon coming closer to her, he became worried when he saw just how still and pale she was.

“Aslan!” she suddenly said, and then, as if she'd been a puppet whose strings had been cut, she began to crumple towards the floor, unconscious. It was only through quick actions that she didn't hit the floor, for Caspian quickly caught her crumpling form in his arms, lifting her and heading straight to his bedroom, walking through the door and placing her on the bed before turning to find the physician on board. Something had happened to her, something that had to do with the plaque, which had caused her to faint, and he needed to know that she would be okay.

It didn't take long for him to find the physician, or long for a short examination of the unconscious young woman to take place.

“She will be fine, Milord, though she will have to awake on her own,” the physician said as he finished his examination. “She doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her – her mind just seems to have decided that it was time for her to sleep.”

Caspian nodded his head, though he wanted to argue with the dianostic the physician said, wondering what would happen if he did. He didn't think that her being unconscious had to do with her mind wanting her to sleep – she had looked completely wide awake moments before he collapse, after all. Plus, he remembered that he'd clearly heard her say Aslan's name before she'd fainted, and couldn't help but think that, whatever had caused her faint, it had something to do with Him. But then, he didn't understand how she could know Aslan's name to begin with, either. She had, after all, shown no recognization of any of the Narnian symbols that decorated the flags, nor had she given hints as to knowing who he was. But then, there was the fact that she seemed to trust him...

He spent the rest of the day worrying about her as he helped around on board, doing mock battles with Reepicheep, helping row when there was little wind, and keeping an eye for land in the crows nest. At night, when the moon came up into the sky, he went to one of the hammocks in the crews quarters, falling into while also wondering about their guest. She hadn't awoken yet, and his wish for answers was beginning to bug him.

Perhaps that was why he didn't sleep well that night, and immediately went to see if she was awake the moment he saw light, a fact that proved useless to do when he saw that she wasn't, though he was sure that she was actually now asleep, and not unconscious, a slight smile on her lips. It was that smile that kept him from rudely waking her, and he left the room, no less confused, but a bit more at peace, knowing that she was definitely just asleep, and very likely to waken at any moment.

It was as he finally came and saw what was happening on deck that he realized that something was happening. He pushed his way to the edge after seeing four of his more able bodied men jump off the ship in a dive, reminiscent of his actions the previous day. His eyes widened when he realized that there were four bodies in the water, all swimming away from the path of the ship, and he turned to look at Reepicheep.

“What happened?” he asked him.

“I don't know, Sire, they just appeared, much like our guest from yesterday,” Reepicheep said, just as the first man reached the closest one. He saw him grab the person, gently, and saw the person turn to look at him, pausing for a moment as they did so. With that movement, it allowed Caspian and everyone else to see who it was.

“Queen Susan!” Reepicheep shouted out, jumping into the water himself and swimming over to her. Susan, seeing and recognizing him, as she had the handsome young man who'd come to her, shouted over to her brothers and cousin.

“Guys, look, it's Reepicheep,” she said, and they stopped swimming away, allowing two of the other men to catch up to them, recognizing them as well. Their cousin, of course, not knowing where he was, didn't want to stop, but Peter, closest to him, grabbed his leg and pulled him to him as they headed to the ship, where they were lifted aboard in pairs, Eustace with Peter, who practically dropped him to the ground once they were on board. Caspian, not believing that he was seeing the three Kings and Queen of Old, immediately rushed forward with blankets for all three of them, giving one to each of them while greeting them with hugs.

“Caspian,” Susan said upon recognizing him, being the first to receive a hug from him.

“Susan,” he said; being a king himself, he was allowed to not call her Queen, though she had also given him permission not to call him queen the last time they were they're as well. He placed the blanket around her shoulders before hugging her, knowing that she was cold based on her shivering. He then greeted Edmund with the same motion, as well as Peter – while things had been pretty tense between him and Peter when they'd first met, they had parted as friends, almost brothers, and he was beyond glad to see the noble High King again.

“How are you all here?” he asked them while leading Peter and Edmund towards his room – forgetting, at that moment, of his guest that still slept in his bed. They paused right beside Susan, whom he had begun leading before realizing whom two of the three others were, and looked at each other.

“You didn't call us?” Edmund said, and Caspian, confused, could only shake his head as he realized that they didn't even know why they were there as well. It was at that moment that Eustace became known, Reepicheep having tried to resusicate him, and learning that he was no longer in England, fainting when Rynelf, the Minotaur, spoke of where he was.

“See to him, will you?” Caspian asked Rynelf, who, though he grumbled, agreed to do so. Caspian then turned to the other, going up the steps to the helm just enough that he could be seen by everyone on board, all whom had come to the deck at hearing the noise of what people being pulled up on the ship.

“My good Narnians, may I introduce High King Peter the Magnificent, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Susan the Gentle, Kings and Queen of Old,” he said, and everyone aboard bowed to the sight of them, many whom considered them to be Narnian legends. Peter, Edmund, and Susan all waved at those aboard, Susan finally asking them all to stand, while Caspian stepped down from the stairs, noticing that Reepicheep, after straightening, was now looking at the doors that led to the hall of his room and study. He turned, seeing what it was that had caught Reepicheep's attention. It was the young woman from the day before, now awake. He smiled – perhaps he'll get his answers, before turning back to the three they'd just pulled aboard, not noticing the fact that the young woman was pale looking once again, eyes completely trained upon the Kings and Queen of Old.

Caspian stepped forward to the group of three.

“Perhaps we should go and get you some dry clothes before I tell you of what's been going on?” he said.

“That would be a wonderful idea,” Susan said, shivering a bit as her wet clothes grew cold in the wind. The two brothers agreed, and all three turned to follow Caspian. However, as Peter looked up at the doors, he paused, eyes widening, gaining the attention of his brother and sister, who also paused with wide eyes. Caspian, confused, looked to see that they had caught sight of his guest, only now just realizing her pale state, which, now thinking about it, was matching that of Peter, Edmund, and Susan.

He looked between the group of three and the one, wondering what it was that had caught their attention so thoroughly, only to freeze when he heard Peter whisper one word, one name.

“Lucy.”


	2. Royalty of Old

It was warm, the sun on her, a light breeze keeping her cooled down enough that she wasn't over heated. The feel of soft grass and the scent of flowers greeted her nose and skin, and immediately, she knew that she wasn't on the ship, as she'd last been. The only water she could sense near her was what she heard, the sound a small waterfalls to her left, the ocean waves to her right. It was the sound of two different water sources that had her finally opening her eyes. A canopy of large, familiar looking trees greeted her, and she sat, her eyes looking at the waterfalls with shock. She was at the entrance to Ordon spring. At least, she thought so, for a moment, for she'd know that gated entrance, with it's small pond and slight waterfalls anywhere, as well as the familiar shape of horse grass that grew in clumps along the ground.

And yet, the sounds of ocean waves confused her, and, looking to her right, her eyes went wide upon seeing what was making that sound. It was the Glistening Eastern Ocean that bordered Cair Paravel, the palace home she and her siblings had lived at in Narnia, the land she had loved with every fiber of her being – and the land she'd forgotten about in the however many years it had been since she'd somehow left it. Without a thought, she began walking towards it, eyes taking in the splendor of the palace, remembering every detail of what it looked like inside. She thought to go to it, to explore, but a faint hint of gold from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned, a smile beginning to paint her face as she realizes what the gold was.

“Aslan,” she said, rushing to the lion. He looked different than the last time she'd seen him, bigger, _more_ , but then, considering how many years had past since she'd seen him, she couldn't help but feel that it was to be expected that he'd grow. She threw her arms around his neck, while he chuckled, putting up a paw in an imitation of a hug.

“Dear one,” Aslan said to her as she pulled back.

“You're bigger now,” she said.

“For every year you and your siblings grew, so did I,” Aslan told her, just as he'd told Susan the last time he'd seen them, when Caspian had called her three siblings back to Narnia.

“What happened?” she asked, wishing to know how it was she'd ended up where she was. “How long has it been? How did I get where I was at? Why wasn't I with the others? How did I become a child again? Why did I stop remembering?” These questions and more bounced around in her head, and Aslan looked at her sadly.

“Time has always moved differently in Narnia than elsewhere, and the same is true about compared to where you were,” he told her. “A bit over thirteen hundred years has past since you were last in Narnia. When you followed the white stag, it was supposed to take you back to England with the others, but you rejected living in England so badly that you couldn't go through the wardrobe there, and ended up going somewhere else, someplace that was like Narnia, but not at the same time. You would have come back to Narnia then, but your destiny didn't lie among staying here, not at that time.

“Your brothers and sister all ended up back in England, because, while they do love Narnia, they hadn't rejected living in England the way that you had. They arrived back there mere minutes after the time they'd gone through to Narnia the first time, time wise in England. They, like you, returned to the ages they were when they'd left Narnia – as you did, for that part of the magic wasn't just set to returning to England, but leaving Narnia.

“As for why you stopped remembering,” here, Aslan let out a sigh, looking at her sadly. “The pain the memories brought you hurt you so badly, as you were not only without Narnia, but without your siblings as well, that I placed a small block on your memories, to keep the pain from harming you.”

She nodded her head, realizing that her lack of memory wasn't her fault, that she hadn't forgotten about Narnia, her brothers and sister, Aslan. She looked up over at Cair Paravel, then back at Aslan.

“What's happened?” she asked. “Who was that Telemarian with the kind eyes? Why is he on a Narnian ship? How has thirteen hundred years passed when it's only been seven for me?”

“Time has always moved differently in Narnia than other worlds,” Aslan said. “As for your other questions, I think there are people better suited to answer them than me, people you need to learn them from other than me.”

She looked at him, confused by his words.

“It's time for you to wake, Lucy. There are people waiting for you,” he told her, and then, before she could utter a protest, he disappeared as her surrounding went black, and she awoke with a small gasp. It took her a few seconds to place her surroundings – the tub in which her clothes were hanging over to dry was what finally gave her the clue she needed. She was in the Telemarian's cabin, alone, in the bed, the tunic and blanket still around her body, belt cinching them in place. Pushing herself up, she blinked as she saw the bright light coming in from the windows. Standing, she started walking to the door with purpose, wanting and needing to know what was going on. She headed to the deck, where she could hear something going on.

Wondering what it was, she hurried her pace, only to pause just before the door as she heard the Telemarian speak – she knew it was him, his voice already so familiar to her in a way that should have surprised her, yet didn't. She was surprised when she heard that there were more guests on board, but her breath caught in her throat as the names of those who were there were said, and she stepped out onto the deck, eyes riveted upon the 'guests'.

She couldn't move, could barely breathe, as she took in the familiar features of the three people, though they were a lot younger than the last time she'd seen them. She was aware that she'd been spotted by the talking mouse and the Telemarian, but she just couldn't take her eyes off of them.

The tallest male noticed her first, and he too just stared, gaining the attention of the other male and one female, who gasped lightly upon seeing her. And, though she wasn't close enough, she could see his lips move in an imitation of her name.

The recognization of her name spurred her into action.

“Peter!” she cried, springing towards him at a quick pace, ignoring how everyone's mouth opened at her seemingly blatant disregard for his title, as she should have called him. She knew that they hadn't heard him speak her name, knew that they didn't realize whom she was. In fact, from the corner of her eye, the only person – other than her other brother and sister – who heard what he spoke had been the Telemarian, which she figured from the fact that he'd frozen with a look of disbelief on his face. At least, she thought that was why he'd frozen – he, after all, had been right next to them when Peter had spoken. OF course, this brought about a small question of what had caused him to freeze upon hearing her name, but she didn't dwell on it as her arms wrapped around Peter's neck, his own coming around her waist and lifting her off the ground – which wasn't very far off, considering that she wasn't as short as she knew she should be.

He spun her around once, then set her back down, pulling back to drink her in. Susan attacked her then, easily wrapping Lucy up in her arms as she practically squeezed the life from her. Lucy did the same back, marveling a bit over how she and Susan were now the exact same height, so neither had to reach up or bend down. When Susan finally deemed it worth letting her go – though she refused to remove one of her arms from Lucy's shoulders – Edmund finally took his turn, just throwing his arms around her and hugging her just as tightly as the other two had done so.

As he finally let her go, her face hurting from smiling so widely, someone interrupted them. The talking mouse, who was looking at them with extreme curiosity on his face, finally seemed to get up the courage to speak, looking at Peter as he did so.

“Um, sire, if I may ask, who is...” he started, only to falter as he seemed to try and figure out the best way to put what he wanted to know. Peter, however, seemed to understand, and looked around, seeing that everyone was curious – save for Caspian, who was still frozen where he'd been standing right next to them before Peter had noticed Lucy.

“If I may,” he stated, looking at Caspian, who, finally coming out of his frozen state, nodded his head up realization of just what it was that Peter was basically asking. Peter walked over to the steps, Lucy with him, and stood up on them so that he could be seen by everyone, Lucy on a step just below him, though also seen by everyone. Looking out at everyone, Peter spoke. “May I introduce our youngest sister, Queen Lucy the Valiant of Old.”

While Lucy was a bit puzzled over the title – the Old part of it – she did remember what Aslan had told her, and so she didn't begin to question it. Instead, as everyone – snapping out of their shock at seeing the one Queen of Old they never thought they'd ever meet – bowed to her, she gave a short, somewhat embarrassed curtsy to them, which, as Peter and Edmund both realized she was wearing, had the turning and looking over at Caspian, a slight glare in their eyes as they wondered exactly how she came to be in his tunic shirt, and with what looked like a bed sheet around her body.

Lucy, realizing that they were all still wet – and, in fact, that she was damp because they were – she gained their attention.

“Perhaps you should go get some dry clothes,” she said, looking over at Caspian.

“Yes, Drinian and some of the others should have clothes for you, Peter,” Caspian said, knowing as he looked at the him, that his clothes wouldn't actually fit him properly – they'd be a bit too small for Peter, who was now even taller than he had been before, and definitely older than he had been the last time he'd seen him, though they'd probably be a bit big, length-wise, for Edmund as well. Edmund, seemingly to realize that he might not fully fit Caspian's clothing either, and elected to see if one of the other crew members could spare some clothes as well.

“As for you, Susan, we don't have any female clothes on board, so you're going to have to borrow some of mine,” he said, and Susan had the feeling that it was his clothes – or, rather, his tunic and bed sheet – that her little, or not-so-little, sister had wrapped around her, a belt seeming to hold it all in place. It was then that she started wondering exactly what had happened that had caused Lucy to be dressed like that – of course, this also made her wonder exactly how long Lucy had been there, and what had happened in that time.

However, needing to be in dry clothes, and also not wanting to begin to accuse Caspian of anything, especially in front of the crew, Susan is more than willing to wait until they are in private before asking the questions that were bouncing around in her mind.

Lucy, after hearing that, grabbed her sister's hand, pulling her toward the room that she'd woken up in, Caspian leading the other two down to the crew quarters.

“I gave my room to... Lucy,” he said, the name sounding a bit strange coming off his tongue, being that its' the first time he's addressed her by her name, and not by Miss. “She and Susan will have to share now, while we three will be down here in the crew quarters.”

Peter nodded his head while Drinian, who had followed them, stopped in his quarters to had Peter a tunic and trousers, as well as a belt before heading back upstairs to keep an eye on the crew. Edmund, however, received something to wear from someone more his size, one of the few Telemarians who had stayed in Narnia, a boy by the name of Christian. Thanking him, he and Peter changed, while Caspian went to the deck to wait for them, his mind whirling with the thoughts of what he'd just learned about their mysterious guest.

She was _Lucy_ , the Valiant Queen of Old, the one he admired most and wished with all his might to meet when he learned the legend about the horn being able to call the Kings and Queens of Old back, as Trufflehunter had told him. His disappointment had been rather crushing when he'd learned the truth, that she wasn't there, that she had disappeared from their lives as much as she'd disappeared from Narnia. He now knew what it was that had caused her to seem so familiar – having seen them standing all together, it was clear that she was apart of the family. While not the spitting image of her sister, she did look enough like Susan that his mind had subconsciously picked up on that fact, as it had also the fact that she held traces of both Edmund and Peter on her face as well.

If Caspian hadn't an iron clad control over his emotions right now, he knew that he would be a mess, the fact that he now had his most admired Queen of Old on board the _Dawn Treader_ only now just seeming to penetrate his mind. To keep him from becoming the mess he knew he could end up being, he thought instead to his first impressions of her, thought of their first meeting, where he'd helped her from drowning at the water tried to overcome her. He thought over everything, from the way she had struggled to her calming at his voice, slight pride in his thoughts over how she'd seemed to have felt safe in his arms, and seemed to trust him, despite having just met him, and not knowing who he was.

Of course, this brought to face the fact that she didn't seem to really remember things about Narnia, at least, as far as he knew. He only knew that she somehow remembered Aslan, based on what she said before fainting. Before her seeing the plaque of Aslan, though, she hadn't shown any signs of remembering. And it was this that had him puzzled most, for, based on what her siblings had told him the last time they were there, Lucy loved Narnia, almost like it was her land of birth. In fact, they had suspected, before learning that she had also disappeared, that her not going with them had been because her heart was so set on Narnia that she couldn't leave it. It would have made sense if that was the truth.

Peter and Edmund came back up, then, knocking him out of his thoughts once again as they joined him by his side.

“Shall we see if the girls are ready?” Peter asked.

“Yes, lets,” Caspian said, and they walked towards the cabin.

“Caspian,” Edmund began to speak, quite literally just after they began walking, “how is that Lucy is here? How long as she been here? Why didn't you mention it immediately when you saw us on board?”

“I didn't realize that it was Lucy,” Caspian said. “Remember, I haven't met her before. I do not know how she is here – we pulled her out of the sea yesterday, same as we did you. I don't think she even realized where she was – she had no recognition for any of the Narnian flags or symbols when she was fully on board and looking around. I also didn't get a chance to ask her any questions, because not long after she'd changed and when we went into my study to speak, she fainted. In fact, it was only right before she fainted that the slightest clue that she had some idea about Narnia came.”

“She fainted,” Peter said.

“What clue was it that clued you in that she did know about Narnia?” Edmund asked at the same time.

“She said Aslan's name,” Caspian told him, before looking at Peter.

“She fine, obviously. I think that whatever it was that brought about her faint may have had to do with her recognizing Aslan – I have a plague of him over the fireplace in the study,” Caspian said. Peter nodded.

“And she's in a bed sheet because...” he started, and Caspian blushed a bit.

“I forgot that my trousers wouldn't fit her, and that I wouldn't have a belt for her – I only have two on board right now,” Caspian said. “I guess she used the sheet to compensate for the lack of leg covering.”

* * *

 

“Why do you have a sheet wrapped around you?” Susan asked Lucy once the door was closed.

“Oh, because I couldn't fit into any of the trousers in the wardrobe, and I couldn't find a belt at the time,” Lucy said, undoing the belt and the sheet, which had loosened, immediately fell from around her without the belt holding it up, pooling at her feet. Susan could see why she had needed the blanket at that moment – the tunic, while long on her, still would leave an uncomfortable amount of leg showing, which wouldn't have been good in any circumstance. Nodding her head, she let her own wet clothes fall to the ground, drying off while Lucy went back to the wardrobe and grabbed one of the trousers she hadn't been able to wear before, using the belt she'd been given to keep them up. They were still a little too long on her, so she was forced to fold up the hems, but, with a slight smile, she found she didn't care. She wasn't stuck in a dress anymore, that was really all that matter to her.

“What are these?” Susan asked her, and Lucy looked up to see that her sister had placed her own wet clothes next to the ones she'd been wearing the previous day.

“Oh, my clothes,” Lucy said, walking over to them, and discovering that they were still damp, and definitely cold. Susan, curious, pulled each item off from the bar, one at a time, looking them over, hoping for a clue as to where Lucy had been the last few years. The dress, while at first glance, almost seemed Narnian, truly wasn't, for it was even more modest than Narnian dresses were, the neckline of the under dress coming all the way up to the neck in a stiff collar, while a darker colored over dress – which was little more than a slightly runched top with single long panel that went almost all the way down to the hem of the under dress – was next to it. The panel held some sort of symbol on it, three triangles arranged into a another triangle above what looked to be some sort of bird symbol. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the dress mostly lacked sleeves – the under having short sleeves while the over was just held up with silver metal straps – she'd think the dress was definitely not meant to attract male attention.

The other two items, though, Susan noticed, were the polar opposite of the dress. A dark green tunic that, when she felt it, was more sturdy than it really looked, and tan trousers, loose in the legs but form fitting at the top and at the hems of the legs, definitely made for a lot of movement than for looks. Both looked like they were something to be worn when adventuring, of something like that, but what really got Susan, and her looking over at Lucy worried, was the fact that both had clearly been well worn for what their purpose was, the signs of many tears having been stitched back up evident, as was the fact that a good number of those tears were familiar to her, and not in a good way. Someone had shot arrows and gone after her sister with a sword, that was clear, and Susan wondered exactly what kind of life Lucy had been living, wherever she had been sent.

“Here, Su, these should fit you best,” Lucy said, knocking Susan out of her thoughts as she held out a pair of trousers and a tunic for her sister, same colors as the ones she was wearing – of course, color wise, there wasn't much choice, for they were all the same color.

“Of course,” Susan said, taking them from her and dressing in them. The trousers were just a little to big, and she frowned, wondering if they would be able to stay up on their own or if she would have to inquire about a belt. Taking a few steps around the room, her frown became more pronouced as she got the answer to her thoughts, the trousers slipping just a bit down her hips, saying that any more movement would have them going even further down on her.

“Seems you need a belt as well,” Lucy said, remembering how the trousers had done the same on her when she'd tried to see if she could get away without a belt, and Susan laughed a bit, nodding her head in agreement, about to turn to see if there was one before remembering that Lucy had needed to use a sheet because she couldn't find one. Susan frowned, not wanting to do the same, when there came a knock on the door. Holding the trousers up as Lucy crossed the room to the door, she watched as her sister only opened it a little bit, just enough to stick her head out, mindful of the fact that Susan wasn't really presentable yet.

“Yes?” she said.

“Are you girls ready yet?” Edmund asked, and Lucy heard a teasing note enter his voice as he added, “You should be, at least. There aren't any dresses for you two to try on until you find the 'perfect' one.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, knowing what it was that he was talking about; back when they'd ruled – before their separation and all these changes happened, before she'd spent years without them and learned how to survive without them – she had often had to help Susan find the 'perfect' outfit, also having to endure having Susan try and help her find an outfit as well. Edmund, of course, never seemed to realize that she had only just endured it, and had never actually liked having to do it, unlike Susan who, at the time, had lived for it. But then, considering that she also considered it her only real way to help in wartime (that didn't involve her bow and arrows) – 'Men can have such loose lips when faced with a beautiful woman' having become quite the motto for Susan back then – Lucy could understand why she'd do it. She'd been given the title 'the Gentle' for a reason, even if there were times she wasn't.

“Susan needs a belt. The trousers are just a bit too big for her,” she said, and, as Edmund and Peter were quick to notice, her request was spoke directly to Caspian. It took them a bit to realized that she'd done it because Caspian knew the ship and it's people better than them, and so would be able to suss out a belt for Susan quickly. And, as he turned and left them for a bit, only to come back in an extremely short amount of time – or shorter than they were expecting it to take – with the aforementioned needed item, handing it to Lucy, they quietly admitted to themselves, that her asking Caspian straight up was probably the best idea.

“That was quick,” Lucy said as she held the hand with the belt behind her, feeling Susan take it.

“One of the crew members had the feeling she would need it and offered once of his extras,” Caspian said. “He was on his way to bring it to me when I went out to see if someone would be willing to lend theirs to Susan.”

When Lucy felt Susan's hand on her shoulder, she let the door open fully, stepping out and allowing the three there to see them fully, both dressed in Caspian's clothes. Caspian, though he would never say it, had to admit that, now that she didn't have a bed sheet around her waist and he could see the tunic on her in full view, along with a pair of his trousers, that he liked how she looked in them.

Shaking the thought from his head, he headed to the study, opening the doors and letting everyone in, closing them once they were in. Peter, Edmund, and Susan all looked around the room, pausing a bit when they saw the plaque of Aslan over the fireplace, all three walking over to it. Lucy, having already done that her first time in the room – and having become unconscious because of it – took the time to look around the room itself, liking what she was seeing. While fit for royalty, it also didn't boast about it, with simple wood furniture, soft cushions for all seats (all bolted to the floor just in case their was a storm), a wide glass window opposite of the doors, and built in shelves with glass doors on them, all filled with things.

“Susan, your bow and arrows!” Lucy said as she caught site of them, her surprise and delight at seeing them capturing her siblings attention. Susan smiled upon seeing them, but didn't try to take them, assure Caspian quietly that, if she needed them, she would grab them, but that they were safe where they were at the moment. Lucy, not hearing them, turned to look at Susan questioningly, wondering why her bow was there at all. Susan, seeing her confusion, walked over to her.

“I gave him permission to keep them and use them if he needs to,” she said quietly. Lucy nodded her head, all the while wondering when this happened. She could tell that her siblings knew the kind Telemarian, knew him in a way that suggested they were all good friends with each other, and wished she knew how it had happened, and who the Telemarian even was, for no one ha thought to say his name when she was around or paying attention.

Meanwhile, as the two sister's talked, Caspian had tried to hand Peter his sword back to use, but Peter refused it, stating that he'd given it to him to use – and, before Caspian could think to offer it to Edmund, Edmund made a face suggesting that he wouldn't take the offer either. Then, remembering something, he turned to one of the shelves, opening the glass door and taking out a small chest before turning back to them, his eyes particularly on Lucy. He paused for a moment, hand position to open the top, as he wondered exactly how to gain her attention. Though as current Narnian King, he technically outranked her, Narnian customs dictated that she was still a queen, and it rather rude to call another royal by any name but their title, less they had given permission. However, at the same time, it seemed a bit weird for him to call her Queen Lucy as opposed to Lucy when he already had permission to call her brothers and sister by their given name.

Still, politeness dictated his words as he spoke.

“Queen Lucy,” he said, gaining her attention. She seemed a little startled at his address, as though she hadn't been expecting it – and she most likely hadn't – but quickly shook off her surprise.

“Yes?” she asked, walking over to him as he did to her, coming to a stop just in front of him.

“I believe these are yours,” he said, opening the chest. She gasped with delight.

“My dagger and cordial,” she said, reaching in to grab them before thinking about it. “May...” she started, only for him to hold the chest out more to her, a silent 'go ahead' action.

“Thank you,” she stated, placing the items right on her waist.

“Your welcome,” he said, closing the box and placing it back on the shelf he'd gotten it from. It was at that moment that Lucy realized he had them, and her confusion of how he'd gotten them came out.

“Um, how did...” she started to ask, not just looking at him, but at her siblings as well, hoping they'd be able to help answer her question.

“When we were here last time, I used them,” Susan said, and Lucy gave looked at her with wide eyes, not because Susan used the cordial – she pretty much expected her sister to use that, as well as knew that Susan had in the past – but because she gave the hint that she'd also used the dagger, meaning that her sister – named the Gentle because of her lack of liking for violence and going to war – had done just that. Susan, seeing the questioning look on her face, gave a light shake of her head, indicating that this would not be a time for her to ask her questions, and so, even though Lucy was dying to ignore her sister's wish, she swallowed down the questions she had and looked back at the others.

“Um, thank you for taking care of them...what's your name?” she sudden said, blushing as her brothers chuckled. She looked over at them, frowning for a moment, then smacked them both on the shoulder.

“We did not introduce ourselves yesterday before I fell asleep, and then you guys arrived, and while you introduced me, no one's said what his name is at all,” she said to them, smacking them again, causing Caspian and Susan to laugh as they flinched. Peter began rubbing his arm where she'd hit.

“That actually hurt,” he said.

“Sorry,” she said.

“You did deserve it for laughing at her, though,” Susan said, stepping forward. “Lucy, this is Caspian, King Caspian of Narnia. He's the current Narnian King.”

“Oh,” she said, then gave a short curtsy. “Your Highness.”

“Please, you don't have to do that. And it's Caspian,” he said.

“Caspian,” Lucy said lowly, as if trying it out. “And you can call me Lucy.”

“Lucy,” he said, also trying it out. The two smiled at each other, Lucy looking a bit shy all of the sudden, while Caspian blushed a bit at being the recipient of her smile. Peter and Edmund both looked suspiciously at them because of their actions, while Susan watched them curiously. Lucy's behavior confused her the most – Lucy had never been one for being shy around members of the opposite gender, even when it came to those who came to court her. She never seemed to be affected by them, yet now, as Susan watched her sister look up at Caspian from under her eyelashes, she had the feeling that Lucy had met her match, and happiness went through her, along with sadness.

She knew that Lucy could never come to back to England with them, but she didn't know if that meant that Lucy could stay there in Narnia. After all, Lucy had another life in another world, one that she might end up having to go back to at some point in time. She didn't think it would be a good idea for them to start something and end up having that happen to them. Neither of them deserved it.

However, she knew that it also wasn't her place – or that of Peter's and Edmund's – to interfere with anything between the two. Things would happen the way it was supposed to. And, hopefully, there wouldn't be too much heartbreak at the end, if there had to be any at all.

  
  



End file.
